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Migration guide

Move media from Brandfolder to FileSpin

Build a reconciled asset library and a working delivery route. Start with a product launch: retrieve assets by SKU and campaign, collect partner approval, publish the required sizes, and verify the revised image on the destination page.

There are two ways to run the move. Both start with an inventory and a representative sample before the full transfer.

Assisted migration
We provide the necessary tools to migrate assets from on-premise and cloud storage while your technical team runs the migration, including metadata mapping, import and validation.
Managed migration by FileSpin
The FileSpin team carries out the migration: source extraction or export coordination, field mapping, import, validation and cutover support. Your team grants source access and signs off the result.
Four migration stages, retrieve, map and import, validate and cut over, showing who carries out each one in an assisted migration and in a managed migration by FileSpin
Who carries out each stage in an assisted and a managed migration.

1. Retrieve the source files and records

Use the Brandfolder V4 API with a bearer API key whose user can read the required library. Enumerate assets and their attachments, keeping both identifiers: one asset can contain several files. Export tags, custom-field keys and values, sections and collection membership. Follow the endpoint’s pagination. Download each required attachment from its returned file URL and reconcile it to the parent asset. Standard paging stops at 10,000 assets; beyond that, page with page_token on a search sorted by creation date. Back off on HTTP 429.

Retrieval uses an authorised source account, with credentials kept out of exports, screenshots and public URLs. Each completed inventory page and download is saved, so interrupted work resumes where it stopped, and expired download links are refreshed.

2. Create a manifest you can reconcile

One record per source file or retained version: source system, asset ID, file or version ID, original name, source path, file type, bytes, a checksum recorded at download, tags, custom metadata, collection membership, rights information and source update time. The FileSpin asset ID and transfer status are added as work progresses.

Original files are kept separate from thumbnails and delivery renditions. Every exception, such as a missing original, a restricted download or an unsupported format, is listed with its resolution.

3. Map what moves and what gets rebuilt


Part of the library

What happens

Originals

Authorised source files downloaded and reconciled against the manifest

Metadata

Map sections and labels deliberately; preserve collections as membership, not duplicate binaries. Convert string custom-field values to destination types only after validation, and retain the source asset-to-attachment relationship.

Collections

Membership rebuilt from source IDs after import

Versions

The revisions you keep, retrieved alongside the current files

Access

Roles, private delivery and review workflows set up in FileSpin; past review decisions archived

Delivery

Smart CDN embeds and collection links switch to FileSpin URLs; past versions and proofing history are exported or archived separately.

History

Past requests, downloads, review histories and usage records archived from Brandfolder

An illustrative Brandfolder record (asset ID, attachments, custom fields, tags, collection and section) mapped to a FileSpin record in the E-Commerce schema with SKU 31077 and season SS27, with attachments kept as related assets and the collection recreated
A Brandfolder record (synthetic example) mapped to the imported FileSpin asset.

4. Import and check a sample

The sample includes several file types, a multi-value metadata field, an asset in more than one collection, a retained revision and restricted content. Files are loaded, FileSpin IDs recorded, mapped metadata applied and relationships rebuilt.

In an assisted migration, your team stages the retrieved files with the tools we provide and loads metadata through the mapping. In a managed migration, the FileSpin team carries out these steps.

The sample passes when:

  • The correct file and intended version opens in FileSpin.
  • Required fields, types and controlled values match the mapping.
  • Collection membership counts match and related assets resolve.
  • Version records and current files match the scope.
  • An authorised user gets access and an unauthorised user is refused.
  • A content owner finds the selected assets by business fields and completes a review.
  • Real pages, players and feeds return the intended output, including after a replacement.
  • A test campaign link and a share download appear in Delivery Insights and Share analytics.
  • If agent work is included, its first run touches only the selected assets, stays within budget and reports its outcome.
  • Every exception is listed and resolved before the full run.
FileSpin Overview showing users, assets, collections, shares and total storage used
FileSpin Overview: compare asset and collection counts with the source inventory.
FileSpin AI Usage account ledger listing credit grants and debits with amount, running balance and operation source
AI Usage ledger: credits used by each agent run, for the budget check.

Brandfolder migration questions

Do our Brandfolder links keep working?
No. Brandfolder Smart CDN and share links are served by your Brandfolder account, so the migration replaces each reference with a FileSpin URL using the ID manifest. Your pages then get the sizes and formats they need straight from the FileSpin link.
Can we keep working in Brandfolder during the migration?
Yes. Brandfolder’s change notifications, with a refreshed inventory compared against the manifest, picks up new, changed and deleted assets, and the final sync brings them across before any route switches.
Do metadata and collections come across?
Yes. Tags, custom-field values, sections, labels and collection membership are exported through the Brandfolder API and mapped to your FileSpin schemas and collections, without duplicating files, and each asset keeps its link to its attachments. The mapping is checked on a sample before the full transfer.
Do we need to run the migration ourselves?
No. In a managed migration, the FileSpin team carries out the transfer. In an assisted migration, we provide the tools and your technical team runs it. Either way, you provide an API key for a user who can read the library.

5. Cut over

1. Set the switch-over
Agree when FileSpin becomes the system of record and how new uploads and replacements are handled.
2. Final sync
Pick up the last changes through the source’s change mechanism or a refreshed inventory, import them and reconcile counts.
3. Switch one route first
Move a selected collection or application route to FileSpin, then test public output and protected access.
4. Expand and retire
Keep the source available through the recovery window, with a rollback for each route, then expand and retire it.

6. Sign off the result

  • Every in-scope source file has a destination ID or an accepted exception.
  • Required metadata, relationships, versions and access controls pass the agreed checks.
  • Applications use the intended delivery route and updates appear correctly.
  • The exception report, ownership map and recovery procedure are handed over.
Reconciliation report for four synthetic Brandfolder attachments: source attachment IDs beside FileSpin asset IDs, file, metadata and collection checks, and one exception where a cut-out was relinked to its original
Reconciliation report with synthetic source records: one row per source attachment, its FileSpin ID and checks, and the exception resolved before sign‑off.

Plan your Brandfolder migration with FileSpin. Tell us the size of your library, the history you need and the systems it feeds, and we’ll scope an assisted or managed migration with you.